How about "whatever beater he can save enough money for"?
Actually having to buck up his own cash will mean he takes care of it. He might even learn to fix it himself.
How about "whatever beater he can save enough money for"?
Actually having to buck up his own cash will mean he takes care of it. He might even learn to fix it himself.
We got mine a $100 mazda 3 and had him work on building it with me. Perfect choice I'd say and I would buy another for that purpose.
SkinnyG wrote: Sunfire or Cavalier. Cheaper than dirt, and painfully reliable.
And horrible in any sort of crash by today's standards. Just sayin'.
Huckleberry wrote: Nobody said Hellcat or Viper yet?
From Mr. Smarta$$ McPoopyPants thread, I'm gonna say CTS-V 2.0...
How come no one has suggested a Nissan Leaf yet? It seems like the perfect car for keeping a kid out of trouble.
Also, if you're gonna learn how to fix cars today. it might make a lot of sense to learn how to fix electric cars.
What about a big ol' classic land yacht, like a Lincoln Mark V or an Electra 225? Crappy on gas and will require a few little fixes every so often, but cheap, fun (in a very different way than a Miata), and very difficult to get into trouble with. Plus, then he can say that his first car was a classic, and even to most kids today that means something.
79 olds 88
Brett_Murphy wrote:SkinnyG wrote: Sunfire or Cavalier. Cheaper than dirt, and painfully reliable.And horrible in any sort of crash by today's standards. Just sayin'.
Even by mid 90s standards they weren't safe cars, especially in a side impact. Mine also had a habit of trying to back into corners if provoked (don't lift!). One of my sister's classmates got T boned in one, damn near killed her and from what I've heard that almost would have been a better outcome. A Corolla of the era is a way better car by any measure.
I'm with SkinnyG, why waste 10k on a car that is probably going to end up wrecked?
2-3 grand on an older Accord or Camry, then if you feel like it spend the remainder on something nicer after he proves he can be responsible and has a better idea of what he wants in a car (or truck)
Whatever $2,000 buys in a midsize sedan. Camry, Taurus, Altima, whatever started life as a rental fleet car one or two steps up from sub-compact. These are big enough to be fairly safe. Disposable enough that Jr can destroy it and nobody will feel bad. And rugged enough to have survived rental duty. For example our teenager car at the moment is a stick shift Altima.
Avoid anything "status", the kids who show up to HS with very nice cars tend to develop into the people you don't want to be around later in life (see Trans Am experience above).
Safe, disposable, beater. That's the ticket for first time drivers.
Dr. Hess wrote: When I was in high school, one of my class mates' parents bought him a brand new '79 Trans Am. Yeah, that went well. Not. My favorite memory of that was that he was stopped in traffic in front of the school, saw someone on the sidewalk, reached over, threw the passenger door open and BAM, a motorcycle cop who was riding along between the traffic and the parked cars slammed into the passenger door, ripped the door off the car and went down. He also married his pregnant girlfriend a few months after graduating high school. I think she was 15 or 16.
I think there must be a mandate for at least one such TA/Camaro/Mustang kid per class, to serve as a warning to the rest of us to be less of an E36M3head. My class had one with an IROC; put it through a stone wall and a bunch of trees and missed most of senior year
. He's probably still limping now 30 years later...
What about a 2005-2008 Grand Prix GXP?
Punchy but not super fast (less power than a new Buick Lacrosse), Sporty-looking but not really that sporty, plenty of features but not super nice, reasonably priced, makes a good noise, and is pretty safe.
Another thought: do you have any cars that you'd be willing to sell him for a price way below market value? That's how I ended up with my first car, I bought it from my parents with the meager minimum wage I was earning working in a kitchen. It was new enough, safe enough, and I had the sense that it was "mine". My cash was tied up in it so, yes, I took way better care of it than I think I would have otherwise. I honestly think that teenagers behave exactly how they're expected to behave. If you expect responsibility, they deliver. If you don't, then they don't.
(a bit off topic I suppose)
I'd agree with the "nice clean, disposable" option. Chances are, he's going to bang up the car a bit--- hopefully not too badly, but a dent here, a scratch there..... a jealous girlfriend there.... who knows. To spend $10K on a first car --- to me is madness, as safe, ultra-reliable machines are available for less than 1/2 that.
Whatever he gets, I think ALL drivers should know the basics before getting behind the wheel. ie
How to change a tire
How to change the oil
How to use jumper cables
How to use a tow-strap
That new commercial that shows the hapless millennial kids trying to change a tire-- -and having no clue always annoys me. EVERYONE that drives should know how to change a tire---even "snowflakes".
Do you have a family member looking at getting a new car? My dad was going to trade in his 05 Acura TL with a six speed. 200k miles. They offered him $1500. My 16 y.o. loves it. I hvave been teaching him how to maintain it.
My son got his permit this morning, his car will be our 2005 Accord.
I went with a Jeep Cherokee for my daughter. Tough as nails, reliable as a brick, not fast, very practical. She is not the type to test the off-road capabilities, at midnight, on a construction site, on a Wednesday and get stuck (this might describe me in high school) so I felt confident that she would stay out of trouble. It is also cheap and easy to work, on.
My son just got his learner's license. We acquired this 2003 Honda Civic with low mileage and ... some cosmetic issues. Some dings and a whole helping of hail damage. Its auto so he can master steering and brakes before giving the clutch on my Mazda2 a go.
I just picked up a '09 Pontiac Vibe as a flip via Repo auction. I got it super cheap. 80k miles and in really good shape. Even had a full tank of gas-as a repo.
It may be going to a nephew as his first car. Seems like a great choice.
5 speed Subaru Lagacy. Safer that a convertible. It wont let you do silly stuff like donuts. However AWD can instill overconfidence as well. I thought my first Subaru was indestructible when I drove it through water up to the windshield. It hydrolocked and that when I learned to do engine swaps! (and what snorkels are for!)
Here she is, My First Suabru!
In reply to badfrogg:
That baja-look bumper, though.
Made from gas pipe from Lowe's and a HF pipe bender!. However the Stainless Steel piece is genuine Delorean, not kidding. My family had a Delorean. this was from a scrap hood that was bent.
Lexus LS400. Cheap as dirt, reliable, strong.
A Toyota 5 speed AWD superchared Minivan. Yes that right the glorious Previa!
Look a 5 year old can do it!
My take is that it should be something that's expendable, cheap, but I'd also add a stick shift. Makes it a lot harder to use a cell phone while driving and helps make sure the driver's paying attention. And something that is easy to fix. I personally would think a Miata isn't a bad choice here, but neither is an average mid sized sedan (I'd still hold out for one with a stick shift if possible). Easy to repair is a plus.
That said, even if they violate the stick shift rule, there's a certain appeal to gettting one of those big malaise era land yachts.
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